on September 25 |
in The Top Spot |
by Staff |
with Comments Off on Chambliss and Isakson support defunding Obamacare

After some mixed signals regarding the filibuster that wasn’t and Sen. Ted Cruz, Georgia Senators Isakson and Chambliss release a joint statement on defunding Obamacare.

From the press release:

WASHINGTON- Today, U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) continued their efforts to dismantle the terribly flawed health care law, known as Obamacare, by voting for a procedural motion to bring to the Senate floor for debate a House-passed resolution that strips funding for Obamacare while funding the rest of the federal government and avoiding a government shutdown.

Chambliss and Isakson voted in favor of cloture on the motion to proceed to H.J.Res.59, the Stability, Security and Fairness Act. This House-passed continuing resolution funds the federal government until December 15, 2013, and prohibits funds from being used to implement the president’s health care law, while also eliminating any entitlement to benefits that may accrue under that law.

Cloture on the motion to proceed to H.J.Res.59 was agreed to by a vote of 100 to 0. Cloture motions require 60 votes to pass.

“Today, I voted in favor of the House Republican’s bill, because it defunds Obamacare and funds the government, without increasing spending,” said Chambliss. “The House of Representatives delivered a bill to the Senate that the American people want, and that I support. I will oppose any attempt by Majority Leader Reid to strip the provision that defunds Obamacare from this bill. Instead of admitting defeat before it has come, Republicans should work together to convince Senate Democrats to stop this flawed health care law from being implemented. I hope my colleagues decide that wrecking our already fragile economy is too high of a price to pay just to uphold the President’s signature law.”

Isakson,a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which have jurisdiction over Obamacare and health care, said, “In keeping with my consistent and strong opposition to Obamacare, I joined with Senator Chambliss and all of Georgia’s House Republican members in voting today for the House-passed continuing resolution that defunds Obamacare and keeps the government running. I have cast almost 60 votes to defund, dismantle and repeal this disastrous health care law and will continue to do so. I hope that the Senate will act quickly so that we have time to work with the House to find a resolution for continuing to fund the government before Oct.1.”

In 2009, Democrats designed Obamacare in a way that allows its funding to continue even if the rest of the government shuts down.

Today’s Senate vote is the first in a series of expected Senate votes on a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown. If the Senate passes the bill later this week, it will either head to the president’s desk for his signature or, if it has been modified, return to the House of Representatives for further consideration. The president has indicated he intends to veto any bill that defunds Obamacare.

Isakson and Chambliss have each voted to defund, dismantle or repeal Obamacare almost 60 times, and they continue to support its full repeal. Chambliss and Isakson are both cosponsors of numerous legislative proposals that would repeal the law in full or provisions in the law, including both the Obamacare Repeal Act, S.177, and, more recently, the Defund Obamacare Act, S.1292. They also recently sent a letter to President Obama urging him to permanently delay the implementation of Obamacare for all Americans.